How we , bearers of the next generations, condemn religion ! What is religion ? Religion, though many, followed by still more many, is in essence, a set of beliefs institutionalized by some structure, may it be a temple, a church or a mosque. Irony is, on one hand, we are taught about our value system by one part of our society - our culture, family and religion, its the other part of the same society - our educational system which teaches us to question it. And we chose to believe the latter. Alas! we miss the essence of religion, a structure of society that has endured for centuries.
How our parents after performing a ritual (which may seem infinitely absurd to our rational mind) seem more content? How hope is kindled once again in a dejected, depressed heart of a man disheartened by repetitive failures, by some illogical commentary of a priest ? How a mind troubled by uncertainty is again brought to peace by seemingly wisdom words of religion ?
The essence of religion is not its manifest function which are visible to eyes. Its not the salvation or the sacrifice or the nirvana. But its the latent functions which we, the rational ones, become blind to. Science, though has made us rational, also has made us blind to things which are invisible to eyes.
So what are these latent functions. Let me show you how these function are exercised in disguise in our daily lives.
Picture a high on drama ritual going on. Obviously its being attended by many. While this ritual is going on, man whose faith is reasserted into god and religion, unknowingly comes closer to those having the same belief. Unknowingly many are united under the same umbrella - the common faith; a unity which gives rise to solidarity necessary for our society to survive. Though this apparent, seemingly naive truth, may seem simple to you, rattle your mind to find any other such potent tool to unite man with such ease. Aaah ! you c ! Its not the visible goal of the ritual thats important, its the disguised unity which is the achievement. Religions across world, though different, impart common beliefs in their flock, which unites them.
Lets take another scenario - a man who is troubled by repetitive failures, failure even after he is worked so hard, tried his best, becomes hopeless. Hope is reignited in his heart by few words of religious wisdom like the ones in Gita. These preachings though irrational gives man courage to once again stand and fight. No science can achieve this feat. U c now! its not the preachings that are imp, its the impact they have on man thats imp. Preachings vary from religion to religion but their objective remains the same - to give man courage to fight once more.
Our lives are full of uncertainties. You know whats the main reason for man's sadness, its these uncertainties over which man has no control. Quest for answers to these uncertainties makes man restless, his peace his lost. Religion, through its absurd reasons, gives him closure, peace. Again its not the reason which are important, its the closure which is its miracle.
Religions are many in this world. They have different preachings, interpreted yet differently by many. But the objectives, the latent functions are same for all of them. U c, y religion came to be in the first place. They were not for some salvation, they were made to keep man safe, content, away from war, in peace with his brothers, in short a more happy man. Tools it used may have been absurd but they were done to make man a more happy man. After all! Its the same reason we developed science, to make our lives more comfortable, more merrier. But Science is far from fullfilling all our querries, so meanwhile there is religion to keep us at peace, to keep us happy. Plus our lives are short and we cant wait for science to solve all our problems. So just believe and be happy!
Sociology speaking!
ReplyDeleteso my bro talking about.latent funtional roles..!!
ReplyDeletegood bro....!!
I think the current generation doesn't reject religion merely because they think its irrational but more so because of dysfunctions of religion like the inequality it creates, fundamentalism when interpreted differently and the unnecessary constraints it creates on social interactions/relations.
ReplyDeleteOn the rationality front too, I agree that religion provides you with some consolation that things might work if you pray but knowing that prayers aren't the best things makes a person put more effort in achieveing his goals than just relying on blind rituals and faith.
I totally agree with your views. An agnostic myself I have pondered over this topic very often. One interesting thing I saw through my friends who follow the religion - hindu indians and christian americans - these people actually believe that religion is for salvation/moksha. Well read phds believe that every single word in bible is true to the letter. So this inevitably leads to belief that other religions are wrong(we dont see this in hinduism because it preaches all religions are different pathways to the same god, but no other religion preaches that). We all know the consequences of intolerance towards other faith. So while i believe that religion as a social structure is essential for our society, the youth should appreciate this fact and hold up the values religion brings into our life but not follow blindly.
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